Target tracking sensor systems, such as radar systems, generate a track data about one or more targets being tracked by the target tracking sensor system and transmit the information to one or more computer systems. Track data comprises position vector and velocity vector and a measure of the data quality. Each of the one or more computer systems utilize the track data to monitor the target, assess the threat posed by the target and take appropriate actions as necessary. Therefore, knowledge of the accuracy of the track data is important for the command and decision system's operation.
Currently, the sensor track data containing the target's state vector (position and velocity) estimates are transmitted via a data link network to the one or more computer systems. For example, the computer systems may be the command and decision systems incorporated in land-based military defense facilities or ocean-going military vessels. The present disclosure relates to Link 16 tactical data link networks, which is an encrypted, jam-resistant, nodeless tactical digital data link network based on MIL-STD-6016.
In Link 16 networks, information on the error in the target's state vector estimates is characterized and transmitted to the various command and decision systems through a track quality (TQ) data. The sensor track data in Link 16 network is referred to as J3.6 messages and includes target track data and TQ data. TQ data quantifies the position error in the track data in terms of a 4 bit value (an integer ranging from 0 to 15) where the value maps to a range of position errors. A more accurate and useful characterization of the error in the target's state vector is the track data error covariance. However, because error covariance data takes 21 real numbers, the bandwidth constraints of the data link network only allows transmission of the track data error covariance upon request. Therefore, there is a need for improving the way the command and decision systems obtain the track data error covariance.